Patents by Inventor Kenneth M. Merz, Jr.

Kenneth M. Merz, Jr. has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20190378592
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a method of estimating the pose of a ligand in a receptor comprising identifying all possible atom pairs of protein-ligand complexes in a given configuration space for a system that comprises proteins; creating a first database and a second database; where the first database comprises associated pairwise distant dependent energies and where the second database comprises all probabilities that include how the atom pairs can combine; combining the first database with the second database via statistical mechanics to accurately estimate binding free energies as well as a pose of a ligand in a receptor; and selecting a protein-ligand complex for further study.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 16, 2019
    Publication date: December 12, 2019
    Inventors: Zheng Zheng, Kenneth M. Merz, JR.
  • Patent number: 10332616
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a method of estimating the pose of a ligand in a receptor comprising identifying all possible atom pairs of protein-ligand complexes in a given configuration space for a system that comprises proteins; creating a first database and a second database; where the first database comprises associated pairwise distant dependent energies and where the second database comprises all probabilities that include how the atom pairs can combine; combining the first database with the second database via statistical mechanics to accurately estimate binding free energies as well as a pose of a ligand in a receptor; and selecting a protein-ligand complex for further study.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2019
    Assignees: Board of Trustees of Michigan State University, University of Florida Research Foundation, Inc.
    Inventors: Zheng Zheng, Kenneth M. Merz, Jr.
  • Publication number: 20160350474
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a method of estimating the pose of a ligand in a receptor comprising identifying all possible atom pairs of protein-ligand complexes in a given configuration space for a system that comprises proteins; creating a first database and a second database; where the first database comprises associated pairwise distant dependent energies and where the second database comprises all probabilities that include how the atom pairs can combine; combining the first database with the second database via statistical mechanics to accurately estimate binding free energies as well as a pose of a ligand in a receptor; and selecting a protein-ligand complex for further study.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 30, 2016
    Publication date: December 1, 2016
    Inventors: Zheng Zheng, Kenneth M. Merz, JR.
  • Patent number: 7904283
    Abstract: The present invention provides for the first time a quantum mechanics-based method for scoring protein-ligand interactions and binding affinity predictions, using quantum mechanical Hamiltonians and/or a combined quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical approach, and Poisson-Boltzmann (PB)-based solvation methods. Also provided is a method for using quantum mechanics to describe the enthalpic and solvation effects of binding. The method comprises comparing the calculated binding affinities to experimental values in order to measure the success of the method. The methods disclosed herein may further be used to score protein and drug or protein and inhibitor interactions. The present method can predict the free energy of binding of protein-ligand complexes with high accuracy so as to enable lead optimization, thus serving as a powerful tool in computational drug design.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2011
    Assignee: The Penn State Research Foundation
    Inventors: Kenneth M. Merz, Jr., Kaushik Raha
  • Patent number: 7167851
    Abstract: Molecules are represented as one dimensional strings of atoms having a linear position and a width. One dimensional representations are compared to assess the likelihood of similarity in chemical behavior.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2007
    Assignee: Accelrys Software Inc.
    Inventors: Steven L. Dixon, Kenneth M. Merz, Jr., Marvin Waldman
  • Patent number: 7065453
    Abstract: A high-throughput molecular docking facility is presented for screening combinatorial libraries to identify binding ligands and ultimately pharmaceutical compounds. The facility employs a pre-docking conformational search to generate multiple solution conformations of a ligand. The molecular docking facility includes: generating a binding site image of the protein, the binding site image having multiple hot spots; matching hot spots of the binding site image to atoms in at least one solution conformation of the multiple solution conformations of the ligand to obtain at least one ligand position relative to the protein in a ligand-protein complex formation; and optimizing the at least one ligand position while allowing translation, orientation and rotatable bonds of the ligand to vary, and while holding the protein fixed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2006
    Assignee: Accelrys Software, Inc.
    Inventors: David J. Diller, Kenneth M. Merz, Jr.
  • Patent number: 6957151
    Abstract: The present teachings describe a solubility prediction approach that is based, in part, upon quantitative-structure property relationships (QSPR). In various embodiments, the solubility prediction methodology comprises identifying a reduced descriptor set from which a solubility equation is derived. The descriptors used in the solubility equation are based upon simplified structural and molecular features which facilitate researcher understanding and solubility model refinement. Moreover, the present teachings provide solubility prediction relationships that may be used to rapidly screen large libraries or collections of compounds.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2005
    Assignee: Accelrys Software Inc.
    Inventors: Ailan Cheng, Kenneth M. Merz, Jr.